Can I use any washer here?

[TechJohnson]

Hey everyone. I recently upgraded my stock shifter bushings to the Acuity ones in my 2015 si. During the process, I took the entire shifter assembly out to better access and remove the stock bushings since I have large hands.

During the process of removing the cotter pin on the left linkage, the plastic/metal washer went flying and that was the last I've seen it.

My question here, can I use any metal washer or does it HAVE to be the one that's plastic on one side and metal on the other? I went to Lowes to see if they had a washer like this and they don't. Is it safe to use whatever, or do I need to go to Honda and replace this stupid washer lol.

 

[dbosch]

The metal in the washer is for strength and the plastic is for friction and protecting the plastic bell crank. Put in a metal washer with a Teflon or nylon one in between it for the friction. You should be able to find both locally. I've been very surprised at the selection at Ace or Tractor Supply with small hardware. If they don't have a combination that fits, I'd just install a metal one. It would take 50 years to wear away that bell crank and that's if the metal washer was tight against it.


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[TechJohnson]

The metal in the washer is for strength and the plastic is for friction and protecting the plastic bell crank. Put in a metal washer with a Teflon or nylon one in between it for the friction. You should be able to find both locally. I've been very surprised at the selection at Ace or Tractor Supply with small hardware. If they don't have a combination that fits, I'd just install a metal one. It would take 50 years to wear away that bell crank and that's if the metal washer was tight against it.


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I appreciate the reply. Do you have a general idea of how large the washers should be? Never even thought about using two different washers. lol

 

[dbosch]

You want something that the id will fit tight to the post and the od large enough to cover the smallest diameter of that knuckle in a perfect world. As long as the OD of the washer is larger than the ID of the hole in the knuckle, the knuckle won't come off of the post. It looks like the knuckle gets a little thicker at the end where the cable rod screws into it. You basically don't want the washers flopping around too loose due to too large of a hole around the post and too large of a outer diameter that the excess will interfere with the other mechanisms while its being operated.

Do you have another washer from another bell crank on the shifter that is identical to the one you lost? Borrow it and when you go to the store and try to match it thickness first, ID second and OD third. If the OD is a little undersized, I wouldn't worry about it. If oversized, it would be OK as long as it didn't interfere with the shifter mechanism while being used. If it needed filing a little to tune the OD, you could do that.


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[TechJohnson]

You want something that the id will fit tight to the post and the od large enough to cover the smallest diameter of that knuckle in a perfect world. As long as the OD of the washer is larger than the ID of the hole in the knuckle, the knuckle won't come off of the post. It looks like the knuckle gets a little thicker at the end where the cable rod screws into it. You basically don't want the washers flopping around too loose due to too large of a hole around the post and too large of a outer diameter that the excess will interfere with the other mechanisms while its being operated.

Do you have another washer from another bell crank on the shifter that is identical to the one you lost? Borrow it and when you go to the store and try to match it thickness first, ID second and OD third. If the OD is a little undersized, I wouldn't worry about it. If oversized, it would be OK as long as it didn't interfere with the shifter mechanism while being used. If it needed filing a little to tune the OD, you could do that.


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I ended up finding two metal washer lying around the garage. This will do for awhile. I play to upgrade the whole housing as it is, so I'm not too concerned. As long as it doesn't break as I'm driving, I'm not worried. :P

 

[modrid81]

Was about to say that I don't think the plastic part of the washer matters too incredibly much in the short term. I just did my base bushings two weeks ago, and found the washer installed backwards, with the plastic side facing out. No signs of wear or anything. 2015 Si with almost 40k miles.


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